Pre-order Killzone 2, get the demo or a theme for your PS3

by Alan Tsang { Dec 31st 2008 at 12:10PM }

We already know Amazon is offering some exclusive skins for your avatar in Home if you pre-order Killzone 2 from the popular online retailer. Looks like Gamestop and Best Buy wants in on some of that pre-order action, too -- reserving your copy at Gamestop will grant you access to an exclusive demo of the game that begins on February 3rd while patronizing Best Buy will yield you an exclusive PS3 theme. Strangely, Best Buy's pre-order page ~~makes no mention of the complimentary theme~~ [Update: Actually, the free theme from Best Buy is mentioned here], but a promotional e-mail from Sony does.

So, which pre-order goody seems the most enticing to you?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Source -- Gamestop Killzone 2 pre-order
Source -- Best Buy Killzone 2 pre-order via PSN e-mail

Tags: Guerrilla-Games, killzone, killzone-2

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Killian @ Dec 31st 2008 12:26PM

A demo or a theme? Best Buy are screwed.

rohan @ Dec 31st 2008 12:54PM

actually they are both screwed, ppl who per order the game already want to buy it, and since HOME is in open beta more ppl will move towards amazon's offer, free clothes for HOME

Mo @ Dec 31st 2008 12:59PM

yeah the demo is meh, the theme more so... closest thing to value is... get this... home clothes... hah, how pathetic.. amazon is clearly winning this one so far.

Foxx @ Dec 31st 2008 12:19PM

I'll take the demo! Forget about the theme :P ... although I'm waiting to pre-order it from Gamestop until I know for sure if the demo will be available to Qore Annual Subscribers or not. (Have gift certificates to Best Buy) I'd rather purchase at Best Buy but if that's the only way to test out the demo then I might have to just do that :)

MakaiOokami @ Dec 31st 2008 3:02PM

Why would you want a demo when the game will be released shortly thereafter?

You won't get any trophies, you won't get any stats for your character's online progression, you'll have to redo anything you did on the Demo, you know you want it anyway, it may be offered in Qore anyway, most Demos suck and the real game is much much better so you might geta bitter taste in your mouth trying out the demo, and you'll have no worthwhile evidence that you preordered it once the demo is released for the public. O_o

I'd rather get the outfit for Home. Hopefully Killzone 2 shoudl support game launching which means you just walk out in the middle of the public areas and your outfit kinda tells people "Talk to me for Killzone 2 matches"

Amazon FTW!

vahdyx @ Dec 31st 2008 5:36PM

My guess is Qore will have it before Gamestop and like the other guy said, The game comes out shortly afterwards

Levi @ Jan 5th 2009 10:57AM

cause we're just dyin to try it out almost a month before it releases. Simple answer for a simple question

Hife @ Dec 31st 2008 12:22PM

The demo obviously sounds better... but I feel like it would be spoiling the experience somehow. I like to play demos for games I'm iffy about getting, not games I already have pre-ordered.
Don't really care about a new theme... wouldn't mind some free additions to my Home wardrobe though I guess.

Jerses @ Dec 31st 2008 12:26PM

why do you need a demo for a game youre going to get anyway? ill take the theme even if ill never use it.

Ty @ Dec 31st 2008 1:50PM

I've never understood the logic in those type of offers either. Once someone preorders the game they are committed to buying it for the most part so why would they need the demo as opposed to someone who may be on the fence.

Jerses @ Dec 31st 2008 1:55PM

yeah...i mean its not the case for killzone but what if this was a preorder for haze and they give you a demo for haze... that would probably make the people who preordered the game to just not pay the full amount. :S

There is no bonus in this preorder...sad

AltCtrlPwn @ Jan 5th 2009 10:52AM

That's exactly what came to mind for me as well; don't see the point of a demo that will become useless the moment you receive the game. Maybe if you're extremely impatient, I guess . . . that said, if the theme sucks ass, no point in getting that either. Might as well get the Home outfit, hah.

marauder800 @ Dec 31st 2008 3:04PM

Agreed. I'm not buying K2 without playing the demo first. Hopefully they will wise up and make the demo public.

Nick @ Jan 2nd 2009 11:05AM

I don't want to buy a game outright without playing the demo. I just don't. I've gotten hijacked by too many damn games that have outright sucked because I wasn't able to play it first.

And I've been saved by demos that remind me that the gameplay really is crap. I was saved from Army of Two and (I know this will make me evil) Uncharted.

Also, if you preorder, you're not FORCED to buying the game, especially at somewhere like Amazon. If you pre-order, play the demo and hate it - you can cancel the pre-order and put that towards something else, or take the money and run.

I'm not one to really care much about a theme. I get bored with them so quickly.

I do have to say the Home clothing is pretty fantastic. Shame they're not offering it to Canadians.

un4gvn94538 @ Dec 31st 2008 12:30PM

a demo is suppose to be a try before you buy. not a reason to buy it in the first place. a frown on these types of "bonuses". should be on the psn in the first place.

Dahk @ Jan 5th 2009 10:52AM

It probably will be, but after release I'm assuming. It's not like their gonna waste their efforts on creating a demo just for a pre-order =P.

And yeah, demo = meh, rather have a theme, but it's still meh all around lol. I rather have like a Helghast mask or something.

defpoet1790 @ Dec 31st 2008 12:32PM

demo please! but still should be on PSN without pre-order.

korwynku @ Jan 1st 2009 2:10AM

Why does Sony offer the best pre-order deal to GameStop anyway? They are so xbots. Last time I almost left the store hearing the sale guy convincing his customer to buy a 360 instead of a PS3. He said that the 360 has a longer warranty (ya considering the high percentage failure rate). The customer kept refusing to buy the 360 (smart kid) but he stood his ground and saying that 360 has more exclusives and all. (sadly it's true) I kept tellin myself it's not the GameStop but it was that one guy. Otherwise I would have canceled all my pre-order at the store for sure. I still have Best Buy and Game Crazy to buy games.

Tyler @ Jan 1st 2009 2:16PM

YAAA Best Buy!!!
I really hate Game Stop, after one of their employees made a comment about me preordering R2. It was not friendly... and after reading your comment, I do not believe it was just that one guy. They seem to hire Xbots.

I do not think they got the best offer anyway... Demos belong on PSN around the time the game is released. Do not preorder it there! Show them it is wrong to give a demo as a "bonus" for BUYING a game.

shawn @ Dec 31st 2008 12:50PM

I ordered from Gamestop, chose the in-store pickup option. So do i get an email with the demo code, or do i have to walk in the store my games being sent to?

Eric E @ Dec 31st 2008 12:59PM

i can wait and get it from gamefly. its still new and if i 'keep it' it only costs me like $40-45.
(cheaper to start - 5$ (10% year+ subscriber discount) -5$ quartly coupon)
I got resistacnce 2 new for $30 b/c of another deal they had going on ($10 off $30> game)

jake @ Dec 31st 2008 1:05PM

i bet it will be play or game that give the demo here in the uk

or it'll just be on the psn store for anyone

Dehshizknight @ Dec 31st 2008 1:14PM

Is the Best Buy theme the same one that we got in Qore?

kentuckyfried @ Dec 31st 2008 1:30PM

So far these promos are weak...I'd grab the one from gamestop if only to get in on some K2 gameplay a little bit earlier than retail (which was fun for COD:WAW back before that title was released).

HAAS599 @ Dec 31st 2008 1:39PM

How about the people that preorder get the game 2 weeks before everyone else!!

The home outfit is the best value so I may opt for that.

-.- @ Dec 31st 2008 1:55PM

They never do things like this for EU, i hope game.co.uk has the same offer (demo *cough*)

Game_playa @ Dec 31st 2008 1:56PM

Will it have multiplayer? If so, then that's all the info i need

Vertrucio @ Dec 31st 2008 2:31PM

If I recall, innovyx based emails are just scam/phishing emails that trick you into thinking they're legit Sony emails. You may want to revise your link on the site guys.

aaronp @ Dec 31st 2008 2:36PM

HOME clothes FTW! HOME is awesome.

thebigjman @ Dec 31st 2008 3:00PM

is this also in canada?

Hedgeson @ Dec 31st 2008 3:06PM

Same old question. The amazon deal doesn't seem to be on the .ca website, and sometimes EBGames refuse Gamestop or EBGames newsletter coupons.
I'm thinking about taking the amazon.com offer, if shipping to Canada isn't too expensive.
Cool costumes that make you stand out in Home and shows what a fanboy you are! It's great! (that was NOT sarcasm. Really.)

Evan @ Dec 31st 2008 3:12PM

People pre-ordering Killzone 2 are taking a risk. There is no guarantee the game will be good. All signs point to disappointment: the first one was mediocre (metacritic score: 70), and this will be the developer's first game for PS3 hardware. I really would like to know why people expect Killzone 2 to be so much better than Killzone 1.

Zampano @ Dec 31st 2008 3:30PM

Based on a pretty wide range of extensive hands-on previews (since most game reviewers have had nearly the full game for a while, now), the general consensus is that it blows the doors off the first one. Reading between the lines of some of those previews, it's possible that the single player might end up being solid, but not revolutionary. The multiplayer, on the other hand, is (by all accounts I've seen) spectacular, and it's what most people (I think) are looking forward to.

Oh, and...have you SEEN it? Call me a graphics whore all day, but any game that looks THAT good will find a place on my shelf, even if it only ends up scoring a Metacritic 70.

kentuckyfried @ Dec 31st 2008 4:01PM

70 wasn't that bad. the original just didn't quite live up to the hype being laid upon it.

The successor is hopefully a different story, but you're right in being wary.

AltCtrlPwn @ Dec 31st 2008 5:36PM

"all the signs" and then you go and list two things that don't even matter (because yeah, no one has developed a great first game on PS3 hardware).

Brandon @ Jan 1st 2009 5:08PM

No one has created a great first game on the PS3?
MGS4
Ratchet and Clank
LittleBigPlanet
R:FoM
MotorStorm
GT5:P

hmm... looks like a few good titles and the developers first for the PS3.

magicfett @ Jan 2nd 2009 11:05AM

People who constantly compare this game to the first one as somehow discounting it are nothing more than complete morons in my book. Either that or simply so fanboyish they can't see past the fact they will never play it therefore it can't be good.

What you should be asking yourself due to your avatar is why does sonic suck so much these days?

Levi @ Jan 5th 2009 10:47AM

Let's discount the PSP game's existence like everyone else, too. KZ1 was a good game, albeit with some issues. KZ:L was my favorite PSP game. So much, that I'm considering buying a second copy knowing that a friend may have borrowed mine indefinitely.

I think the PSP game was developed by someone else. Regardless, anyone who thinks a dev team wouldn't try to improve on the shortcomings of the first offerings, and possibly take note of the good scores the portable game got, is just dumb.

Add all of the positive hands-on articles and we have plenty of reason to preorder the game. Though, preordering any game is "taking a risk," if you want to put it that way. Most game stores have a 1 week return policy, so if it turns out to be complete crap, bring it back for *at least* in-store credit towards another game.

-1, OP.

Evan @ Jan 3rd 2009 3:54PM

Why shouldn't we compare it to the first one? Same developer. Guerrilla Games' previous three games scored 50%, 70% and 77% on metacritic. They couldn't make a good game before, what makes people so confident they will do better this time? What has changed? It's not like they weren't trying before.

Tyler @ Dec 31st 2008 3:49PM

To bad Wal-mart has no offers like this... I got a $100 gift card for going to a party, and am not able to afford the game any other way.
Oh well...

The only offer I would consider is the HOME cloths.
There are better themes on the internet.
Demos should be open to the public. If everyone gets the preorder with the demo, companies might think it is OK to not put demos on PSN.

Andrew @ Dec 31st 2008 4:29PM

For those that want to pre-order at best buy you need the order from the below link to get the killzone 2 theme.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?type=category&id=pcmcat170300050037

I personally will wait to see if there will be a collectors edition. I was in the closed beta and enjoyed it very much. The multilayer is intense when teams converge at a certain point to complete an objective.

paul from NYC @ Dec 31st 2008 4:40PM

Taking demo, better than themes anytime. Virtual clothes for home does not excite me and I dont want to encourage Sony , items like that should be free anyway. I would much rather get a two week head start on fraggin. That being said, all games should have a demo before its actual release. Overall, Killzone multiplayer will kick butt. watch the previews if you havent

chris @ Dec 31st 2008 5:26PM

Sony should drop the demo in side another game, That way people would be temped to buy a game they normally wouldn't. Kinda like Microsoft did with crack down, we all know the only reason that game sold as well as it did was because it included a demo for halo 3, They should also do the same with FF13 and verses.

jrabin93 @ Dec 31st 2008 5:50PM

My order of preference:
1. Home outfit
2. Theme
3. Demo

Lavat @ Dec 31st 2008 6:46PM

I wanted to play the demo for KZ2 and go preorder it while I was at game stop yesterday when I heard about it. But they did not get the cards to access it yet. I am excited I can play some KZ2 and I am waiting till Sat. till I go see if they have it by then. Helz yea!

I am just not ever going to order any over the internet though...It is stupid to put your credit card info over the net and it is even stupider to have a credit card in the first place....And do not even get me started on having to pay 30 dollars just to get those prepaid ones either.

AltCtrlPwn @ Dec 31st 2008 6:52PM

Paranoid much?

Lavat @ Dec 31st 2008 7:15PM

It is just...Stupid people seem to think..and especially in this economy...That paying for something that you do not have now and then having to pay more by then end of the month with a possibility of not paying that bill...Is some how smart.

So...These people have a lack of patience, and seem to waste more money just because they do not know how to save from wasting all the money they lost on the last bill to spend on the next expensive thing they can barely afford. But still...I need to pay for those MGO Expansions...That is why I take my roommate's.

Throb @ Jan 2nd 2009 6:30AM

Umm you use a credit card to build a credit history faster if you are smart. You don't use it to pay for bills ahead of time because then you get stuck in the never ending cycle of getting screwed.

Buy something on your credit card, go online pay it back from your checking/savings account the same day. You pay .03% more, but you build credit so some day you can get that house, car, or whatever with low payments and interest rates.

Get educated man!

Levi @ Jan 5th 2009 10:47AM

Dunno man. I may have paid a bit of interest over the last year that I've been using my card, but it allowed me to buy a 40" 1080p HDTV and a PS3 like 6 months before I could have if I saved up. And that's assuming I could actually save my money efficiently, which is usually not the case. I also received probably almost $100 in Best Buy monies to spend since I started using it (the MasterCard branded one fyi).

Might I add that I've been using cards on the internet for years, and have not had one problem yet. The only problem I've had is billing information not matching up after I moved, which gives me a hard time when I order something online. This is a good thing though. It's another security measure.

Add to all of this that a credit card helps add to your credit score. As long as you're smart about it, there's nothing wrong with owning and using a credit card. It's just the stigma that the average American has like $10,000 credit card debt that gives the cardholders bad names.